In fact, at the same moment, Cao Ang, who was in Fancheng, also received a handwritten letter from Cao Cao.
The content of the letter was basically the same as the one that Cao Pi received, but their methods were quite different.
Of course, some of the differences here are because Cao Ang does not have a "mentor" around him to help him with advice, but Cao Ang seems not to care about the assessment so far.
Therefore, at this critical juncture, he did not turn to the so-called mentor like Cao Pi did - after all, he had no mentor at all.
In fact, he chose the safest approach and that was——
——
Xiangyang.
As the most important military town in the central defense of Wei State today, Xiangyang not only shoulders the important responsibility of protecting the central hinterland of Wei State, but is also the most direct gateway for Wei State to face Liu Bei.
In recent years, Liu Bei has kept a low profile and rarely takes the initiative, but this does not mean that there is no less friction between them and Wei.
In fact, in the past two years, statistics show that nearly a hundred encounters between the two sides took place on the land between Xiangyang and Jiangling.
As a portal for direct dialogue, the selection of the Xiangyang defender is naturally a top priority.
Ever since he captured Xiangyang without any blood and experienced the extremely difficult battle of Xiangyang with the Sun and Liu coalition forces, Cao Ren has been the governor of Xiangyang for three full years.
Over the years, he had fought against Guan Yu many times, so he was naturally very familiar with Liu Beijun's strength.
In a war against Liu Bei, if Cao Cao's army currently has the most experience in dealing with it, apart from Cao Ren, there is really no one more suitable than him.
Cao Ang's thinking was so simple. On the battlefield, everything was kept simple, so he chose to seek advice from Cao Ren.
This is not an act of transgression - even though he is undergoing an assessment, one of the most important functions of a mentor according to the regulations is to provide family support.
If you are just seeking advice, this behavior is not prohibited.
therefore……
Cao Ang rushed to the government office in Xiangyang City alone, took the letter he just got, and knocked on the door of the government office.
Coincidentally, Cao Ren was about to go out. Not long after, he opened the door himself. Seeing that it was Cao Ang, he was a little confused for a while.
"Good nephew?
Why are you here?"
"Uncle! It's a letter from my father... The letter says that the battle between Jiangdong and Liu Bei is about to begin. My husband is also in Jiangdong at this time. My father wants me to cooperate with my husband's next actions, but... but my husband has never given me any instructions... I wonder, uncle, if you
…”
After saying these words, Cao Ren's seemingly relaxed face immediately changed.
Cao Ren, who suddenly became serious, took a look at Cao Ang - Cao Ang was dusty at the moment, Xiangyang was cold, and Cao Ang, who was only wearing a suit of armor, shrank all over and his skin was purple, but even so, the sincerity in his eyes was not false at all.
The two stared at each other in the cold wind for a while, until Cao Ren burst out laughing, leaving the shivering Cao Ang confused.
"uncle?
What's wrong?"
"I don't think you are worried about orders... At least I can see that what the lord said in this letter is probably to test your judgment, but your boy... your boy is probably worried about Brother Yi's safety at the moment, right?
"
"ah…"
Cao Ang was immediately exposed and showed a guilty conscience.
Seeing him at a loss, Cao Ren smiled and shook his head.
"I have no control over the assessment, but the things in the letter are facts - actually what happens next..."
Cao Ren put aside his previous joking look and put on a serious face to answer Cao Ang's questions.
During this period, there were many exclamations from Cao Ang, but the conversation between the two never stopped.
Especially Cao Ren... Listening to his tone, it seems that he already knows the upcoming battle and is just waiting...
Just wait for the real time to come.
——
The arrangements made by Yi Xiaotian have begun to move rapidly at this moment.
It was as if a huge machine was awakening his huge yet sophisticated body.
When the giants of history stand up and move forward, the only thing that can stop them is God's will, right?
Wuhu——
As one of the most important military towns along the Yangtze River in the east of the Yangtze River today, the self-built industry must pass through Wuhu when going up the river.
At this time, we have to talk about the high hopes Zhuge Liang had for his navy.
In his plan, the resistance faced by his elite navy was probably the weakest in the course of this war.
But... as time went by, because no accurate news came from the direction of Jingkou, Zhuge Liang did not know much about the current situation of the navy.
And... during the retreat, he sent out scouts more than once to spread the news to the various departments along the river, ordering the navy to abandon all strongholds and rush back as quickly as possible once they received the order - but as for
Zhuge Liang had no idea how effective it would be.
In fact, his hunch was correct.
Unbeknownst to him, during the Battle of Jingkou, the 30,000-strong Liu family's elite navy was blocked by Zhu Huan's troops. They could not help but fail to break through the defense on the river, and were intercepted by the opponent with powerful weapons, resulting in the loss of a valuable building ship.
The battleship sank on the spot.
Not only that…
As the only two leading generals of the navy this time, Wu Ban was also killed on the spot during this interception, and not even a whole body was found.
It seems that... the navy team, which should have been in an absolute advantage, should not have suffered such a defeat under any circumstances. However, there were also rumors later that there was a certain degree of internal strife in the military at that time.
However, what was the specific situation at that time? The truth was forever buried in the dust of history with Wu Ban's death and Chen Shi's silence.
The current situation is that after the decline of the Jiangdong Navy, the Liu Family Navy, which was considered the only one on the river this time, is now seeking help along the river after its defeat, relying only on Chen Shi's judgment.
Yes, calling for help, Chen Shi did not really receive an order to retreat from Zhuge Liang.
Because the orders sent by Zhuge Liang, without exception, were easily intercepted by an unknown group of men in black midway through the road——
So for Chen Shi, he thinks that now on the frontal battlefield, the two sides should still be entangled. Although they have lost... they will not lose everything. As long as... as long as they can contact Zhuge Liang... maybe they can still make amends.
A mistake?
It's really not Chen Shi's fault for having such a judgment, but it's a pity that everything has fallen into Yi Xiaotian's advance arrangement.
The first time Chen Shi and others realized something was wrong was when they stopped in Wuhu——
The Jiangdong people suddenly burst out of the city and attacked Chen Shi and others who were docking at that time with lightning speed. After a fierce battle, they killed nearly 2,000 of their navy and plundered them again.
A batch of medium-sized battleships——
After this battle, Chen Shi naturally did not hesitate and issued an order to retreat directly.
But the once invincible navy is now less than 50% of its original size in terms of fleet size and number of people... It can be said that although it is the group that has experienced the least battles, the navy has brought the most disastrous consequences to Liu Beijun.
